I, 47th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, was out on the beach with a few friends of his company gathering shells in front of them were four of the 90th New York boys with loaded rifles on their shoulders, one of them was carelessly playing with the trigger of his gun, when bang! went off the load, the ball entering the forehead of Nolf, killing him instantly. “A very sad accident happened here one day last week, which has cast a gloom over the whole regiment. Fort Zach Beach Fort Zach BeachĪs I got home from Key West and started reading about the history of the fort I came across the following account from a soldier at Fort Zachary Taylor sent to the Sunbury American, dated June 16, 1862… And while the fort did have beach access during the Civil War, much of the present day public beach was created in the last fifty years. I wondered how often the soldiers stationed at the fort could escape from their work and drudgery for a few minutes of splashing and wading at the beach. We waded into the water and hunted small shells and coral. White sand, beautiful blue water…it was stunning. Now, I couldn’t keep my saintly patient wife waiting too long inside the walls of Fort Zach, so we headed out for a short walk to the nearby beach. Early woodcut of Fort Zachary Taylor (ClipArt ETC, University of South Florida) As I explored the parade ground and barracks I tried to imagine these men from far off New York and Pennsylvania who rode out long stretches of the war at this remote spot. The occupants of the fort instead spent the war fighting mosquitoes, disease and boredom. The fort did not come under attack during the war…in fact it never saw a shot fired in anger, instead serving as a deterrent to blockade runners. The fort was garrisoned throughout the war by a variety of regiments, including (but not limited to) several batteries of the 1st US Artillery, four regiments from New York, the 47th Pennsylvania, 1st US Infantry, 2nd Florida Cavalry and two regiments of the United States Colored Troops. ![]() Parade ground and barracks (at right) View from observation deck Fort Zach Barracks While the upper tiers were removed in 1898 the fort remains an impressive, if not imposing structure. The fort originally included two casemate tiers topped by a barbette (three stories). Apparently these iguanas are considered an invasive species, and while they look big enough to take off your leg they quickly scurry away underfoot.Ĭonstruction on Fort Taylor started in the mid-1840s and by the time of the Civil War the fort was still under construction. Fort Zach IguanaĪ few minutes later and we pulled into the parking lot at Fort Zachary Taylor and were greeted by…iguanas. She relented and I dialed up an Uber before she could change her mind. The few beaches there are smaller, pocket beaches, not the miles long beaches you recognize from family vacations to the Outer Banks. Contrary to popular belief Key West is not ringed by long, white sand beaches. Thankfully I still had a card to play…Ī beach! There’s a beautiful beach at Fort Taylor. Any mention of a fort is sure to bring on the eye rolling, so if I wanted to convince her that we saunter off Duval and over to Fort Zachary Taylor it was going to take some work. And then, dear wife, there’s ‘Fort Zach’, a beautiful state park situated on the very tip of the Key West. Mallory Square, the central nervous system for Key West and parrotheads near and far, was named for Key West native and Secretary of the Confederate States Navy, Stephen Mallory. Moving on… Fort Zachary Taylor State Park ![]() See that…I quote Gettysburg and I have your attention. Construction of the 1848 Key West Lighthouse was supervised by George Meade, sir, that’s right! Our very own general of our very own corps. While poking our heads into many (ok…too many) of the bars on Duval Street I casually mentioned to my wife that there was a lot of Civil War history in Key West. We recently joined a few friends for a late season, kids free, just-what-the-doctor-ordered trip to the Florida Keys. I’m equally proud and embarrassed to admit that she’s right. My wife will tell you that I can find Civil War History wherever we go.
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